THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

There are bold pilots. There are old pilots. There are no bold, old pilots!

Bold Bob Riegg boldly bespoke himself of a quotation from Mark "Samuel Clemens" Twain, on the subject of, well, boldness: " The timid man yearns for full value and demands a tenth. The bold man strikes for double value and compromises on par."

VISITING ROTARIANS

Palmer Riedel - Former Lamorinda Sunrise member back for a visit

John Sherry - Lafayette noon club

Alicia Cragholm - Ibid.

Troy Federson - Prez of the Lafayette menagerie, trying to corral his wayward flock

Gary Irwin - Moraga

GUESTS OF OTHER PERSUASIONS

Ron Melvin, US Bank - Fourth visit (but who's counting?)

John Tallio - Captain with United Airlines. Flies 757s and 767s, adding that he has even flown a Luscomb. BTW, he owns seven vintage cars, two Model T's and a partridge in a pear tree

BIRTHDAYS, ANNIVERSARIES, AND OTHER MISCELLANEOUS GOODIES

Not today. Maybe next week. Right after the raffle. Surely you remember our raffle ... even if our Alex does not

IT'S OKAY, HE'S STILL LEARNING THE ROPES

Alex says "sorry"

Apparently, there was a mix-up involving Rick Ashburn's badge, as in it seems to have disappeared. Our self-same fearless leader offered up an almost suitable

Rick says "it's about time"

substitute for Rick to wear until this all gets resolved, complete with an apology to the badgee. Some of the louder, more obnoxious members (read: Rich Shearer) thought it was highly unacceptable that a president would apologize to a lowly rank-and-file member for a misplaced badge instead of exacting financial tribute and requested, nay, demanded that the Sergeant-At-Arms extract a suitable seizure of folding money from His Alexship for this transgression. No one in the Club cared a whit about the badge or the reason for fining a Club president, but they smelled blood in the water and the proverbial feeding frenzy ensued.

NO ONE WAS THE LEAST BIT SURPRISED WHEN . . . .

The shocking Mr. Sherry

We were all shocked -- shocked! I say -- that John Sherry had an announcement about the doings of the Lafayette Club. In particular, on Sat., April 28, starting at 11:00 a.m., our sister club will host the Lafayette Rotary Club Poker Tournament. (Don't worry, all the chips represent matchsticks, so it's legal.) It should be a great time, and the money raised goes into the Lafayette Club's do-good fund. It will be at the Pyramid Brewery, 1419 Locust Street, Walnut Creek. Need more info? Send an e-mail to DinoRiggio@gmail.com or check out www.rotarylafayette.org. Or ask Alicia Cragholm, as she seemed to know more about it than John did.

IF FROGS AND LOCUSTS START FALLING OUT OF THE SKY, ALL BETS ARE OFF

And you guys think this is all fun and games?

Chuck Yeager, or club secretary was able to attend this morning without a cell phone welded to his ear -- not that common an occurrence as his superiors seem to think that some provision of the Constitution says that business can only be conducted between 7:00 and 8:15 Pacific Time on Friday mornings. Thus freed from the wonder and nuisance that is cellular phone technology, Chuck allowed as how much of the country is seeing bumper crops of weeds, vermin and bugs. Most people would see this as a bad thing, but since Chuck's place of employ makes various products to kill such things, he sounded positively giddy about the impending Perfect Storm of Predatory Pests.  

AN HONOR (?) PROUDLY BESTOWED

Mr. Neat and Mr. Not-So-Much

As some of you may recall, Pat Flaharty was the recipient some time back of the Golden Paint Brush Award, which he earned for working directly below Gary Fulcher at the Club's last painting project (Pat got the last of Gary's dripped paint out of his hair just last week). Today, Gary and Pat stood up to bestow this priceless honor (and it is in fact priceless - worth nada) on Rich Shearer for putting paint on walls, ceilings and himself above and beyond the call of foolishness at last weekend's painting project at the Garden Park Apartments. Skip McCowan, Buddy Burke, Spike Speicher, Paul

Rich won it all by himself

Fillinger, Valerie Shearer, President Alex, Gary, Pat and project leader Hays Englehart all tried their best to claim the Gleaming Golden Goo-Splasher prize for themselves, but none of them were willing to go the extra mile -- or gallon, as the case may be -- to outdo Rich's ability to get paint all over his smock and even on his lip. Hey, if you want to hit the heights, you have to pay your dues, not infrequently earned upon a ladder (get it? height/ladder?). Reporter Shearer does not bear responsibility for this one.

On a related note, all of the aforementioned Club members, whilst applying paint to a Garden Park Apartment that really needed it, noticed the absence of a certain Brad Davis, the Club's Garden Park liaison and the one who arranged this soiree, and Paula Bernhard, who enthusiastically signed up and promised to be there. It turns out that they decided they had something better to do and hied to Hawaii. Not together, mind you, but both did, in fact, go to Hawaii instead of slathering paint in a Garden Park Apartment with the Usual Suspects. This reporter has heard some pretty exotic excuses for getting out of unpleasant tasks, but this may take the cake.

ARIANNA CHECKS IN

Welcome back Arianna

Arianna, our recent Youth Exchange Student from Bolivia, called Steve Ware the other day to check in. It turns out that, after returning to Bolivia, she finished her senior year in high school and is now back Stateside, attending Texas A&M. Better yet, she plans to be in the area in May. She will be staying with the Wares. If schedules permit, Steve will bring her to a meeting. That is a real treat to look forward to. Ah, yes, Arianna the Aggie.

WHAT DO WINE, BRUNS AMPHITHEATER AND RON BROWN HAVE IN COMMON?

Lamorinda Wine Growers, here we come!

You will want to be at Bruns Amphitheater, the home of CalShakes on July 14 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Why? Because that will be the time and place of the newest addition to the Lamorinda Sunrise Bag o' Extravaganzas, the Lamorinda Wine Discovery Event, as it is "almost" officially named. This will be our principal fundraiser for 2012-13, and Ron Brown is already beating the drums to raise awareness and participation. A planning/publicity/marketing/production/execution committee has been formed. We will do members thereof a favor by not mentioning names. They ask to be formally identified only if the event is a success, which OF COURSE it will be.

So what is this? In a nutshell, it is a chance for the growing number of Lamorinda area wine growers and producers (as many as 80 of them) to get the word out about the great wine grapes they are producing. Ron, Alex, Paul Fillinger and others in the Club are working very closely with the Lamorinda Winegrowers Association (Sampling all those wines to see who makes the cut is a dirty job, but somebody has to do it.) The winemakers get exposure for their wares, we raise money to help bankroll local service projects, the community has a great time -- this is what you call a win-win-win (LSR-LWA-CS). Lots more info to come, but keep the date open and be prepared to help out..

SPEAKING OF HELPING OUT...

Motorama is alive and revving up

Don't forget that the biggest-get-our-name-in-front-of-the-community event we have ever staged, Motorama, is still on. Father's Day, June 17. Know of someone with a cool car we should be displaying? Contact Jim Kendall. Know someone who should be a sponsor? Talk to Krysten Laine. Know what you're doing on Father's Day? Of course you do; you'll be pulling an oar at Motorama.

AND SPEAKING OF HOME TEAM . . .

In addition to the successful HOME Team day two Saturdays ago and the successful HOME Team painting party at Garden Park, Hays Englehart and Joe Bettencourt are taking the HOME Team on the road to the various District

Join Joe and Hays in District debut

Assemblies around District 5160 to spread the word about this great project to other Clubs. In Hays' own words, "Can we please get a write up in the newsletter re: the District Assembly on May 19, in Vallejo? Joe and I are doing breakout sessions at each, (we just did one yesterday in Paradise, wherever that is...) and I would really like a strong showing of club members at the local Assembly, hopefully wearing Home Team shirts and hats, etc.... ALSO note that our very own Past District Gov, His Highness King George of Chaffey, will also be presenting. His address alone is worth the price of admission, of which there is none. (You get what you pay for I guess).

If you could mention that attendees need to register on the District website, www.rotary5160.org , go to the "events" tab, find the calendar and click on the "log on and register" for the event."

You know you need to help out on this and you can bet Hays and Joe would love the company.

Meanwhile, you knew this had to happen eventually, and happen it did to George Chaffey and Don Reichert. While these two stalwart Lamorinda Sunrise HOME Teamers were busily engaged doing the HOME Team thing, up drove the Orinda Police Department - fortunately, they left the SWAT team home - to investigate why the alarm at the house was going off. No word whether George or Don tripped the alarm, but there is a certain poetic justice in having two of our longest-serving Members be the ones to achieve this particular, er, milestone. It appears that neither George nor Don made the "bad cop, no donut" comment as there was no mention of bail or court dates.

PROGRAM: BETCHA DIDN'T KNOW THAT YOUR HOUSE BREATHES

You breathe air in, and you breathe air out. So does your house. And the amount it breathes might be costing you a bundle. But there is something you can do about this, and you may even qualify for a rebate for doing so.

Scott and Jordan know how a house breathes

Such was the message of today's speaker, Scott O'Hara, ably assisted by Jordan Shively, both from Eco Performance Builders. That is a Concord-based, licensed contracting company (State License No. 944856, if you insist) that specializes in making homes more energy efficient and making homeowners qualify for as much as $4,000 in rebates through a California state program.

So what is this about houses breathing? If they are not properly insulated, if heating and cooling ducts are not properly maintained and insulated, if there are unsealed holes in walls, floors or ceilings through which pipes or ducts pass, then air is free to enter and exit the house. A house will act like a chimney, with warm air rising, which draws in cooler air below. The average California house leaks 30% to 40% of its treated air (heated or cooled, depending on the season) via crawl spaces, attics and elsewhere. You experience this as cold drafts in the winter, upstairs bedrooms too hot to sleep in the summer, increased incidents of asthma, and high utility bills.

In addition, 40% of an individual's carbon emissions comes from his or her home. (Insert your own joke about where the other 60% comes from here.)

Eco Performance takes a "whole house" approach, looking at your home as an entire entity and responding to these issues in a systemic way. The main goals are increased comfort, increased air quality, increased efficiency and decreased utility bills. There is also a potential to increase the resale value of your home, although Mr. O'Hara was not aware of any numbers to prove or disprove that.

There are four steps to the process:

Step 1 - Assessment. Mr. O'Hara and his associates interview the owners to find out their specific concerns. Then comes extensive testing of the entire house to determine the problem areas. It can be inadequate or improperly installed attic insulation. It can be pipes or ducts that are badly placed or inadequately insulated; it can be unsealed holes in walls through which pipes and ducts pass (not to mention mice); it can be a host of other issues. Rarely is it just one of these, which is why Eco Performance looks at the house organically, not just a collection of parts. They also look for health hazards, such as the presence of asbestos or carbon monoxide. They also can evaluate your lighting to see if it is possible to reduce your energy consumption while maintaining appropriate light levels. (Here's a hint: They probably can.)

Step 2 - Report: After conducting the tests, Eco Performance prepares a report and explains it to the homeowner and makes recommendations of appropriate improvements. This is not just a matter of saying "we can make your energy bill go down." It is highly quantitative, complete with explanations of how many times, for example, your cooled/heated air will turn over in an hour now compared with after improvements are made. (In one example Mr. O'Hara showed us, the "before" was the air turning over 1.2 times per hour, the "after" was 0.42 times. Even this reporter can see how that translates as a need for about one-third as much air conditioning.) Based on this report, the homeowner and Eco Performance decide on measurable performance goals and create a plan of action.

Step 3 - Eco Performance does the agreed-upon work. They are qualified to do just about any of the work that is likely to be needed.

Step 4 - Retest. Eco Performance comes back in and retests the house to make sure all of the performance goals have been met. Again, this is highly quantitative; the homeowner will know how much less air is leaking out of his or her house and will know how much less electricity and natural gas they will be consuming (allowing, of course, for different weather conditions from year to year). Eco Performance generates another written report, complete with photos to document the work.

In addition to getting a more energy-efficient and more comfortable home, you also qualify for a rebate based on the percentage of the reduction of your energy consumption. A 15% reduction gets you a $1,500 rebate from PG&E. (This is a state- mandated program, but the rebates are paid via your utility company, which in Northern California is PG&E. The amount of the rebate goes up for every additional 5% in energy reduction, to a maximum of a $4,000 rebate for a 40% or greater reduction. Don't expect the rebates to cover the cost of the work, but Mr. O'Hara reported in response to a question that there have been instances where the rebate has come close to doing so.

The state rebate program is in place through the end of this year. Although indications are good that it will be extended through 2014, there is no guarantee, so getting this work done sooner rather than later may be a capital idea.

Can you do the work yourself and get the rebate? Nope. The work must be performed by a licensed contractor (This is one reason why the reports and the photos are important -- they document that everything needed to qualify for the rebates was actually done.) Of course, if you do the work yourself, you still have the advantages of running the air conditioning less in the summer and the furnace less in the winter.

So what should you look for in a contractor to do work like this? First, you want a licensed contractor. Second, you want a contractor who is certified by the Building Performance Institute. Third, you want to check into what training the contractor has received. You can find such contractors at https://energyupgradeca.org/overview.

Of course, you could skip the search process and go directly to Eco Performance Builders -- after all, this is what they do. Contact info: www.epbuilders.com or phone (925)-363-4498.

Thank you, Messrs. O'Hara and Shively, for educating us about how we can make our homes much more efficient and comfortable and how we may qualify for as much as a $4,000 rebate.

CALENDAR

Friday, 3/30, 7am - Expose yourself

Friday, 4/6, 7am - Behind the Pensions - Dan Borenstein

Tuesday 4/10, 7am - Board Meeting, Realty office, Orinda

Friday 4/13, 7am - Our kids stomachs - Cindy Gershen

Friday 4/20, 7am - Mark Twain comes to life

Friday 4/27, 7am - Expose yourself - Mark Roberts

Friday 5/4, 7am - Saucy Jack the Ripper

Tuesday 5/8, 7am - Board meeting

Friday 5/11, 7am - Pan Am TV series - Nancy Hult Ganis

Friday 5/18, 7am - District Attorney Mark Peterson

Saturday 5/19 - District 5160 Assembly, Vallejo, Support Home Team!

Friday 5/25, 7am - Expose yourself - Jim Marggraff

Friday 6/1, 7am - Kara Boatman

Friday 6/8, 7am - Lesher Center Director Michael Butler

Tuesday 6/12, 7am - Board meeting

Friday 6/15, 7am - Marilyn Langbehn - Director/PR Mgr, Cal Shakes